Bowl Rankings: Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
They happened. Football was played. Or maybe it wasn’t – no one can quite remember.
38. SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Memphis 38, Utah State 10
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 22
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 19, 2020: 27, 2019: 25
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 9, 2020: 5, 2019: 2
This was as about as forgettable as a bowl game gets. Utah State didn’t have the normal parts, Memphis got up 24-3 at halftime, and that was about it. The only people who enjoyed this were Memphis fans and those investor types who finally had an easy, no drama cover from a bowl favorite.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
37. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force 30, Baylor 15
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 17
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 28, 2020: 16, 2019: 32
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 4, 2020: 8, 2019: 32
Baylor struggled to get in it. Air Force got up 9-0 in the first quarter, Baylor pulled within two in the final moments of the first half, and that was it for the fun. 21 straight Falcon points took the game over, it was 30-7 by the time the Bears got back on the board late, and by then … this game never got going. Air Force had the ball for over 40 minutes.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
36. Military Bowl
Duke 30, UCF 13
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 11
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 21, 2020: NA, 2019: 27
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021:T40 , 2020: NA, 2019: 33
UCF was missing way too many parts on defense, it held things together on offense with a few warm wishes, and Duke had just about everyone in place. That all became apparent instantly. The only saving grace was UCF’s ability to force field goals – three of them – instead of touchdowns which would’ve made this thing come to its obvious conclusion just a little bit faster.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
35. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
WKU 44, South Alabama 23
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 30
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 32, 2020: 22, 2019: 33
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 23, 2020: 25, 2019: 27
If anything, this was supposed to be a big win for South Alabama, but WKU QB Austin Reed ended that fast. It was impressive for about 20 minutes, and then it was over with a 24-0 Hilltoppers lead and 31-3 halftime advantage on a night with no other bowl games. There were some big plays and good moments in the second half, but you had to be totally bored to watch this until the end.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
34. TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 27
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 22, 2020: NA, 2019: 23
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 8, 2020: NA, 2019: 40
Give this bowl a little bit of credit for adding some desperately needed offensive punch in a bowl season full of boring attacks full of players who could use far more time figuring out what to do.
East Carolina ripped off points and big plays at will, Coastal Carolina wasn’t in it after Grayson McCall got hurt, and outside of the Pirate offensive pyrotechnics, this wasn’t all that compelling over the last three quarters.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
33. Myrtle Beach Bowl
Marshall 28, UConn 14
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 32
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 27, 2020: 16, 2019: NA
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 26, 2020: 25, 2019: NA
It went almost exactly like it was supposed to. UConn was going to give it a go, but Marshall was a bad, bad fit for what Jim Mora’s Jr’s team could do. It was ugly early, interesting in the second half, and feisty late with enough of a momentum swing the Huskies’ way after getting down 28-0 to make it okay.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
32. Rose Bowl
Penn State 35, Utah 21
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: 3
Pre-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 5, 2020: 9, 2019: 2
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 1, 2020: 24, 2019: 6
It wasn’t New Year’s Day, the weather wasn’t beautiful, and it continues to be a flaw in the system – it’s just not the same when this thing is played after the College Football Playoff semifinals. Throw in that the marquee game of the day was Bills-Bengals – obviously not knowing the horror that was about to come – and this just didn’t feel like the Rose Bowl.
Penn State was great, the first half wasn’t bad, and the two Nittany Lion home runs were breathtaking. But the game was effectively over when Utah QB Cam Rising got hurt – backup Bryson Barnes wasn’t bad, but the Utes didn’t score in the second half until the very end.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
31. College Football Playoff National Championship
Georgia 65, TCU 7
Pre-Bowl Matchup Ranking: NR
Post-Bowl Ranking: 2021: 2, 2020: 13, 2019: 10
There’s a reason why the biggest blowout in the history of bowl games isn’t at or near the bottom – it was the national championship. There was something fascinating about the brutal precision of what Georgia did against a painfully overmatched team. This was never a contest, but for a game of this magnitude it became a historic disaster.
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means
Bowl Rankings 2022-2023
Bowls of Sad | Instant Memory Dumped Bowls
Just Bowls | Very Good Bowls | Great Bowls
Classic Bowls No. 8 | No. 7 | No. 6 | No. 5 | No. 4
No. 3 | No. 2 | No. 1 | Bowl Scoreboard